My first day of school in my new town was as an eighth grader at Cedar Vale Grade School. We moved to CV in October 1948 from Winfield. I thoroughly enjoyed the Winfield schools and was the only seventh and eighth grader in the band and orchestra. The music instructors were quite good and I naturally had some thoughts about the system of my new town. It was soon found that Cedar Vale had an excellent instrumental music teacher in G. A. Beggs.
We lived in the "Georgia Chapman Apartments" and my first adventure was to attend band practice at the high school. I remember that the senior trombone players were Verne Sweaney and Barbara Williams. After practice Mr. Beggs drove me to the grade school for my first school day. Different text books were used at my new school and I just attempted to get the information from our instructor (John Morton) during class and didn't purchase the needed texts. Needless to say ... my grades were not brag-worthy. Another problem of moving to a new school can be that friendships are already established by those that have for some time been together. For this reason in some schools it can be difficult to create a niche for yourself. On the whole, my move to Cedar Vale was not difficult because of the friendliness of the class and the town.
Having transferred to several different schools during my grade school days ... I found that it wasn't unusual for the need of a new boy to prove himself by having a fist fight. Cedar Vale was an exception to this rule as I don't remember having to enter into this dreaded activity for a measure of respect for my class. (At the same time, it was occasionally necessary to fight someone from another class.) One epic battle that I remember described was one between Don Shaffer and Harold Bohannon. During this era there were a number of skirmishes and this just seemed to be part of being a boy. After the trouble, most usually the boys ended up being friends.
Harold Bohannon was an ornery fellow and one day crawled out on the window ledge in study hall. It is not remembered if anyone else helped me but I closed and locked the window. Study hall at that time in the old high school was on the second floor located above the entrance to the administrator's office. As Harold was stranded there ... I believe it was Mr. Humble who was walking in the door and immediately called to the study hall teacher (Mary Hamilton) to "get that boy off the window ledge". Tragically, Harold died an early death in an automobile accident in Texas.
The aromas of Cedar Vale Grade School were unique and I believe most drifted from the school cafeteria. The food was probably just fine ... but as related in an earlier blog ... Tom Gordon and I daily trekked to "Herb's" for our midday so to speak delicious two bit meal. Recesses had been discarded at Winfield Junior High but were back in vogue at Cedar Vale. The recess periods that some jokingly refer to as having been their favorite part of school were most certainly the highlight of my school day.
Mr. Morton had a hole drilled paddle that he used much too often for my liking. My dad informed me on the first day of my first grade that if I should receive a whipping in school that I would receive another (twice as hard) when I returned home. Thankfully, he never found out until much later of my several "problems".
No sex education class was available but much of this early learning came from the group discussions at shop classes in Winfield and with classmates Tom Gordon, Delores Hall, and Shirley Sweaney at Cedar Vale. These small tidbits of shocking information seemed to be most all I that needed to understand at least some about the birds and the bees. Delores Hall was perhaps the most adventuresome of our class and at least once was sent home by Mr. Morton to return to school in more suitable attire. Most likely her "shocking" garb today would have been most conservative.
Cedar Vale Grade School remains dear to my heart and my memories. I remember our janitor (Mr. Beachler) as a fine man. Other teachers included L. Doran Wesbrook (the wife of a relative), Effie Foster, and Ethel Montgomery. This school would not likely be thought of as exceptional for today's standards but it seemed to produce students of excellence.
10 comments:
Phil - Thanks for your memories of the Cedar Vale Schools. I am so glad your generation had the benefit of Mr.Beggs. In my time we had a wonderful vocal music teacher, Mildred Fulhage, but instrumental music wasn't so great.I read in the Cedar Vale Outlook received yesterday that Effie Foster is celebrating her birthday - 101 years old. Mr. Beachler must have worked for the school a long time. I started school in CV in September 1937 - in the 4th grade. Audrey Guldner was the teacher.I don't remember that she had a paddle,but she whipped a bunch of kids with a rubber hose for not doing their homework. Can you imagine that in today's world? I remember Mr. Beachler letting us clean the blackboards for him. What a privilege! Ethel Montgomery graduated from CVHS in 1919.
As I remember, Pat ... the vocal instructors didn't stay too long at least while I was at CVHS. When I was writing about the grade school I was unable to remember the names of the rest of the teachers.
Vocal instructors when I was at the HS were Mrs. Nadine Morris and Mr. Sandlin.
I got a good chuckle and much enjoyment from your introduction to Cedar Vale Phil.
They certainly must have racheted up the severity of discipline since my days at the old grade school. I can't remember much corporal punishment administered--maybe I was such a good boy that I didn't know about it. NOT
I remember the grade school principal, Howard Bates, spanking one boy so hard that he left big welts and bruises on his back-side and legs. The grandparents then sued Bates or the school, but I think it was dismissed. That was not an unusual punishment for Mr. Bates to mete out.
Do any of you, especially Phil Foust, remember the CVHS Boys Quartet? Our vocal music teacher was Joye Forman, I believe. If I remember the boys in the quartet correctly, she convinced Reece Bohannon, Tom Gordon, Phil Foust and myself to be in the quartet! All went well until we found out that we didn't have a tenor! Ms. Forman "volunteered" me for the job, which would be accomplished by singing "falsetto!" I should have know better. Yet, all went well until our first performance. During on my "falsetto" forays into unknown realms of the musical universe, the rest of the quartet broke up in laughter! This behavior was contagious since the audience soon joined in! However, as I remember it, Ms. Forman did not see the "comic relief" in the moment!
The look on her face will be one I will remember for an eternity! Let's just say that it was "forged in fury!" And, needless to say, that was our last public performance!
Wayne, besided Mrs Naydeen Morris and Mr. Sandlin, we had Joyce Fomong as our music intructor our freshman year.
Don, certainly I remember the quartet and the performance. Most likely the audience enjoyed the moments of laughter a bit more than they would have had the intended public presentation been accomplished?
Was it Formon or Fomong or Fromong??
Anonymous, I am just going by what my 1952 year book says. She signed my book Fromong .
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